Description

Before the wind tunnel-born Noah or the supremely light Helium, Ridley's flagship Damocles was the Belgian brand's carbon fiber cobblestone warrior that could also slay the highest mountains and the fastest finishes of prestigious Grand Tour stages. It's through this impressive versatility that we present the Damocles with a SRAM Force build kit -- another prime example of getting the absolute most out of every opportunity aboard the bike, whether you're training, racing, or partaking in the local gran fondo traditions.

The carbon fiber Damocles is constructed of individual tubes that are joined together into a complete frame. This tube-to-tube method gives Ridley designers the ability to fine tune the layup for each tube considering its role in the frame as a whole, giving it a special blend of durability and lightness. But where the Damocles is unique -- and where it should capture your attention -- is in its ride quality. The true test is to big ring it down a chip-and-seal road (after all, every bike feels great on smooth pavement). By now we've had countless experiences drilling carbon fiber bikes on choppy country roads and at times have been annoyed by both the jackhammer effect and the reverberation of road noise throughout the oversize tubes. Take just one test ride on a Damocles though, and you'll come to a glorious conclusion: there's a distinctive forgiveness to its tubes. In a "me too" world of homogenous carbon fiber framesets, it's smoothness and silence will breathe new life into your belief of what's possible with carbon.

As smooth as the Damocles is, it doesn't sacrifice performance for comfort, as evidenced by its race pedigree. Its "Sharp Edge Design" has been optimized for stiffness, in a way that it resists flex under power. So be it sprinting or charging up a climb, the Damocles leaps at the push of a pedal. Along those same lines, it has a tapered headtube with an oversized 1.5" lower bearing, giving the front end supreme stiffness when you're out of the saddle. The tube junctures at the bottom bracket illustrate the intent for stiffness under power, as the hexagonal shaped down tube is massive, nearly as wide as the bottom bracket shell. By pairing this rigidity with its capacity for absorbing road vibrations, the Damocles has a finely balanced ride of which most other manufacturers can just dream.

A medium-sized Damocles frame weighs in at 1.2kg, just a shade above 2.5 lbs -- putting it in the same weight class as the Cervélo S2 and the Colnago C50, two other bikes widely respected for their ride quality and their durability. The beauty of the Damocles is that you get every bit of performance you'd expect from a ProTour bike, but at a price that saves you sufficient money to upgrade your wheelset or other components to give you a bike that looks the part of a ProTour bike from stem-to-stern. Luckily, we've done that heavy lifting for you, equipping this Damocles with a full SRAM Force groupset and reliable Mavic Aksium wheelset. Of course, SRAM Force borrows heavily from SRAM's top-tier Red gruppo, delivering the same caliber of crisp shifting and supreme power transfer through the carbon crankset. You'll quickly find that aboard a platform as powerful as the Force-equipped Damocles, there are few events you won't be able to remain competitive in.

The Ridley Damocles SRAM Force Complete Road Bike is Matte White/Black and comes in six sizes from XX-Small to X-Large. Given its compact geometry, we strongly suggest that you focus on the virtual top tube length as you make a determination of the proper size.

Here's what others have to say...

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First bike

Familiarity:
I've put it through the wringer

This was my first race bike in 2004 and it was way ahead of it's time. I'm sure even today this bike can hold its ground. This would be a great bike and build for anyone looking for a killer race bike with potential. ie maybe a wheel upgrade and some small parts here and there but it's a killer bike.